Supervillain Origins: The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse

VO: Dan Paradis
They are the first wave of their master Apocalypse’s plan to test the world’s humanity. Believing that the gene pool has become polluted, Apocalypse’s desire was that only the strong should survive, so he created his Horseman to destroy the weak and gather the worthy survivors. To form his team of Horsemen, Apocalypse selected mutants whom he deemed worthy of the honor and altered their minds, powers and physiology to make them instruments of his will. Join WatchMojo.com as we will explore the comic book origin of The Four Horseman of Apocalypse. Special thanks to our user Takeshi Kadoya for submitting the idea on our WatchMojo.comsuggest page!

Supervillain Origins: The Four Horseman of Apocalypse

They are the harbinger of doom, serving their master loyally. Welcome to Watchmojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of The Four Horseman of Apocalypse.

As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 1986 and 1987’s “X-Factor” issues #10 and #19, and was expanded on in issues 23-25, 1999 and 2000’s Wolverine #145-147 as well as 2013’s Uncanny Avengers issue # 6.

First introduced in passing during the iconic Mutant Massacre storyline, The Four Horseman made their proper debut soon after. This revealed them to be the first wave of their master Apocalypse’s plan to test the world’s humanity.

Believing that the gene pool has become polluted, Apocalypse’s desire was that only the strong should survive, so he created his Horseman to destroy the weak and gather the worthy survivors.

To form his team of Horsemen, Apocalypse selected mutants whom he deemed worthy of the honor and altered their minds, powers and physiology to make them instruments of his will. From those chosen, it was his horseman Death that served as the de facto leader of the bunch. The first mutant reconditioned to take on Death’s role was Archangel, an already altered and evil version of the founding X-Men team-member Angel.

Immediately coming to blows with Angel’s former teammates and founding X-Men, the Horsement created anarchy and destruction around New York.

To maximize their havoc, Pestilence, War, Famine and Death had split, with each member relishing their new abilities and power.

This first attack ultimately came to a close when Archangel came to believe that he had killed his former teammate Iceman, only to break free of his programming and turn on his new master. Caught unprepared, Apocalypse chose to retreat and seemingly abandoned his new team, but it was far from the last we’d see of this formidable squad.

In the years since their debut there have been many incarnations of the Horseman, and with each passing year the caliber and star power of his recruits only seemed to increase. Perhaps the most noteworthy servant in all of the years of the team’s existence came about in 1999, when Wolverine was transformed into Death.

It was at this time that Wolverine found himself captured by Apocalypse and set in battle against his long-time foe, Sabretooth. Knowing that it was a test and that whoever prevailed would be chosen to take their place, Wolverine tapped into a newfound savagery and handily won the encounter.

Following this, Wolverine battled the Hulk, before encountering a small group of fellow X-Men. These included former Horsemen inductee Angel and two of his closest allies, Jubilee and Shadowcat.

Ultimately, Wolverine was able to overcome his programming thanks to the efforts of his friends, including his ally Angel who could truly relate to his internal struggle.

More of the history of the Horsemen was later revealed, as the earliest incarnation of the team was dated back to the 11th century. This version of the Horsemen was set on the task to kill a target by their master. These members were arguably the most unique and best designed to strike fear in the hearts of men as it consisted of a spectre, a horseman astride a winged bear, a creature with wings with an eyeball for a head, and a man with wrappings around his face. This version of the team was defeated when the god and future Avenger Thor arrived to protect their intended victim, putting an end to their path of destruction.

Appearing in various media, The Horsemen have played roles in most X-Men animated series from the nineties X-Men cartoon show to X-Men Evolution.

In 2014, they finally made their brief live action debut in the post credits sequence in X-Men Days of Future Past, and are expected to have a sizable role in the upcoming film, X-Men Apocalypse.

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